1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a mechanism for managing a use history of each part of an image forming apparatus from the outside of the image forming apparatus.
2. Related Background Art
Each consumable part which is used in an office machine has a prescribed life. On the basis of a discrimination result about whether or not a counter value for measuring a consumption degree in the life shows a presumed life reference value, a serviceman exchanges the part.
The counter value of a part of an image forming apparatus is also obtained in a remote place. Whether or not the counter value shows that the part has reached the end of the life is discriminated, and the serviceman does the work to exchange the part which has approached the end of the life.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H7-066885, there is disclosed a print system in which a life of a detachable unit is discriminated on the basis of the reference value and data such as a use situation or the like of the unit which is notified periodically or at predetermined timing in a remote place through a network and, when it is determined that the part has reached the end of the life, the image forming apparatus is notified of such a fact.
As a technique which has conventionally been known, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H1-123253, in a copying apparatus having exchange parts, there has been known an image forming apparatus in which, on the basis of the life of the part which was exchanged the previous time, a life reference corrected in accordance with use results can be predicted.
As mentioned above, with respect to each of the parts used in the image forming apparatus, a conventional technique of managing the lives in the remote place as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H7-066885 has been known. A conventional technique of managing the use results of the parts according to the usage of the parts which can be different for every user and using the use results as a life reference as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. H1-123253 has also been known.
However, there is such a problem that when the use histories of the parts which are actually being used are managed by an external apparatus in a remote place, if the part is exchanged and, for example, the counter (for example, a counter to count the number of print sheets) of the use situation of the part is reset in some way such as that the serviceman depresses a counter reset button, or the like, the counter value in the image forming apparatus increases or decreases and the life histories of the parts cannot be accurately managed.
To solve such a problem, a solving measure of providing a mechanism which notifies the external apparatus in the remote place of the counter values (use histories) of the use situations of the parts before exchanging has also been presumed. However, there is such a problem that when it is considered that the image forming apparatus used on the user destination side is included in the apparatuses as targets to be maintenance-managed, since there are a number of apparatuses which do not have the function of notifying the external apparatus in the remote place of the counter values of the use situations of the parts before the exchanging, such a solving measure does not provide an overall solution.